Accepting Responsibility For One's Own Health, Good or Bad.

Who Is Really Responsible For Health Care For Americans?
Written by Linda R. Hedden
Copyright lin-hed productions
Original written Jan. 22, 2008


The issue of health care in America is one of major concern, and has been debated by politicians and average citizens for decades. The majority of Americans seem to agree that something must be done, but thus far there has been little progress toward resolving this problem. In the current presidential campaign, health care coverage for all Americans is a major focal point. Better back up: Health care for all uninsured, American or not. And that I do not agree with, but anyway....

Having been faced with both sides of this argument by way of interaction with family members and friends, and my personal circumstances also, makes me familiar with - not an expert on - a few versions of health care in America.

My personal health coverage is through my former employer, a perk I was able to retain when I left the company. That does not mean no out-of-pocket monies for me. What it does mean is that what was a "free" benefit, as stated in a signed legal document by my former employer, now several years later has a monthly premium attached, my co-pay has doubled, and the co-pay on my prescriptions has tripled in just a little over ten years. Yes, I am very blessed and thankful to have this health insurance, which includes vision and dental as well as prescriptions, and the payment is about one-third the cost of anything I could obtain individually. So am I complaining? Not at all. I bring this up merely as an example of how big companies are renigging on their promises to employees who gave their all to help get them where they are. Should they not be held accountable for something?

On the other hand, my elderly mother lives on a small Social Security check. Her health insurance is provided through Medicare and Medicade, and comes with a cost 'tho small in comparison to what many pay privately. This she pays out of her SS check - and the amount she pays per month is more than what I pay for my insurance premium! My mother lived the early years of her life in a society where the majority of women didnot work outside the home. My father worked as a laborer for a local contractor. There were no health insurance packages attached to their jobs. So after my father's death, Mother draws on Dad's Social Security and relies on the federal and state governments to provide health care. Together they raised nine children, not once taking food stamps or any other commodities. When I left home after graduation at age 17, I began working for a company at a whopping $63.00 per week! My father had four children still at home at the time..And his salary was less than mine!! Where was he to get money for health insurance?

We were lucky to have been raised in the country, without pollution, without preservatives. The air we breathed was pure, as was the water we drank. Our fruits, vegetables and what little meat we had was not filled with toxins, steroids, or hyberdized, or full of preservatives, salt and iron. In case you aren't aware, there are many people who do not need all that extra iron the government seems to think we do. Many of my family members have an excess of iron, a genetic disease which can, and has, killed. Growing up I can remember just about every case of one of us being sick or hurt, and can count those times on less than all fingers. The very few times anyone went to the doctor the fees were paid out of pocket. Is there a corelation to a healthier lifestyle such as we had, and a greater necessity for medical care in today's society? You'll never convince me there isn't.

My brother, who is a veteran, receives his medical care from the VA, as no insurance packages were available to him. Like so many others, a private policy was cost prohibitive. Another family member who has minor children has no health insurance either. When someone in his family gets sick or injured, it constitutes a trip to the emergency room. Who pays for that? Both adults in that family are smokers, thus the minor children have indirectly become smokers by way of second-hand smoke. And here is where individual responsibility comes in.

It is a known fact that smokers have more health issues than non-smokers. It is also a known fact that over-weight people have more health issues, and I'm certain were I to investigate further I would find any number of scenarios to support the theory that lifestyle can induce health changes, many to the good but many necessitating frequent doctor or hospital visits.

A few months back a sister and I accompanied my brother in his weakened state to the VA hopital for a check-up, which by the way, is necessary periodically due to the excess of iron in his body. The number of patients, family members and/or friends that were outside smoking was astounding! A friend of mine whose husband smokes suffers from light asthma, probably because she has breathed the second-hand smoke. Her husband is a very heavy chain smoker, and spent a lengthy time in the hospital on the brink of death a few years ago, due heavily in part to his smoking. During said time he was not smoking, but all the while refusing his doctor's suggestion of "a patch", etc. Upon release from the hospital he of course resumed the habit.

Only quite recently my mother was hospitalized as a result of a fall. During one of numerous trips to visit with her, while passing by the ER check-in and other waiting areas, my younger sister and I observed that the majority of people were very noticeably overweight. In puzzling through this, we concluded that these people were very probably in the low income bracket, and used the ERs as their primary care givers. This then lead us to believe that through previous observances, and current as well, many in the lower income bracket are over weight. Why is that the case, or are we way off base in our line of thinking? Could it be that everyone needs to be educated in the power of maintaining good health?

Now we all surely understand that health insurance companies work alot like auto and home insurance companies. Have an accident or get a ticket and watch your insurance premiums jump. It doesn't matter that you have many years on their safe-driver program. Was your home, your main residence, blown away in a tropical storm? If that has happened to you, then you can probably relate horror stories about trying to collect on that! Later you find out your insurance company is dropping you as a high risk!! Like you have control over the weather? What is fair about that? The governments have to pick up some of the slack, but never-the-less, premiums are going to rise. Of course I have personal opinions about people who have multiple homes for tax write-off purposes, and the government (MY tax money) stepping in to assist in rebuilding, but that is not what I am writing about, so let me get back on track.

I'm here to tell you, health insurance companies are not really much different than the afore-mentioned auto and home insurance carriers. They certainly are not lowering their premiums. In reality the more trips to the doctor or to the emergency room, mainly for those without insurance and/or policy holders who do little or nothing to maintain good health, the higher everyone's premiums will be. Folks, that means you and me! It's going to come out of our pockets. In addition, only recently has it been heard that hospitals will begin to require payment upfront when one is going to be having treatment. Why? Because there are too many people not paying their bills! Yet a hospital recently dismissed an illegal alien, this only after he spent weeks in the hospital at someone else's expense. You get to guess whose. Supposedly he also suffered from amnesia. Yea, right. When are insurance companies going to start giving a break to us who don't smoke, who maintain at least some semblance of good health, who are not obese, who are drug free, and use alchohol only moderately?

Now the thought of greedy insurance companies controlling coverage for all of us is a nightmare in itself. But whose responsibility is it anyway? Should we not all - meaning individuals, insurance companies, businesses, and our government - be held responsible? Should not we as individuals strive to stay healthier through taking better care of ourselves, by eating healthier diets, getting proper rest and exercise, drinking in moderation, throw away the cigarettes? I was a smoker for ten years but went cold turkey over thirty years ago. Why? Because I was sick:I woke with a smoker's hangover every day;I was nauseated;I was way too thin, and very irritable. Luckily for me I recognized the fact that cigarettes were the cause.

The following is information released by the CDC:

Every Pack of Cigarettes Sold Costs Nation $7 [04/18-2]
Excerpts from: Study Shows Every Pack of Cigarettes Sold in US, Cost the Nation $7
Health & Medicine [04/12/02]
Source CDC

A new study says every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States costs the country more than seven dollars in expenses.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)announced Friday that medical costs and lost productivity from cigarettes cost more than $150 billion in 1998. Previous estimates said the cost was less than $100 billion.
Among adults, most deaths between 1995 and 1999 were from heart disease and lung-related diseases.
The report says the average cost of cigarettes is just under three dollars a pack.
The CDC suggests state and local communities do more to control the use of tobacco.

End of report.

But should the state and local communities be responsible? My answer is every adult individual should be held responsible for his or her own health - and that of their children.

On another note, I ask:Should not big and small businesses be held responsible for pollutants in our air and water? Should auto companies not be held responsible for manufacturing autos that emit less pollutants and use a more ecological fuel?
Should our government not be held responsible for levying heavy fines on any of these businesses who do not meet standard? And I mean carrying through with the enforcement of laws that are in place, as well as adopting new ones as needed.
Should drug companies and insurance companies not be held responsible for their price gouging? Should the politicians we elect not be held responsible for their greed in bowing to lobbyists by way of underhanded agreements with drug companies and more? Should not individuals be held responsible for their own health care expenses if they do not practice preventive measures, such as giving up smoking, diet,et al?

Yes, you'll probably ask "Who is going to be the health patrol"? Maybe the answer is a simple one, and that answer is all of us who are sick and tired (no pun intended) of paying out of our pocket for irresponsibility! Maybe it is time we as a whole lobbied our government, our insurance companies, the companies who add preservatives to our food...Maybe we should take responsibility, and contact our elected officials, the auto makers, the drug companies with our concerns. You know, I feel that the voice of one person that is heard goes much further than the voice of thousands that remain silent.

We Have Followed, Now We Must Help Lead

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Copyright linhed productions
Mar 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm EST


Little by little over the past sixteen months I have been evolving from the role of viewer to that of doer. In doing so I find that the role of doer is much more difficult than that of viewer! Oh how easy it was to sit back, letting someone else take care of business.

In regressing, I came to realize it had always been left to the trust of someone other than myself as to political decisions:to my parents (who were on opposite sides of the fence, by the way) as to the choice of political leaders. Later my husband became the influence, my still being part of that era deferring to him, for he was, after all "the man of the house". By the time of the Bill-Monica White house years my head was buried deeply in the sand: No newspaper, no TV, no media of any kind.Therefore I know very little about that time, but do remember being embarrassed and humiliated by the shenanigans of OUR LEADER, as were most Americans! Now I ask why we allowed our president to get away with this.

Faith in the judgement of elected officials of our country has faltered. Many,many of us have been the viewers, letting someone else "do". It was so easy for me to refrain from watching the national news - What I saw only angered me, left me frustrated, but also left me doing nothing to make changes happen. For other Americans a conscious decision was made not to participate in any election with the 'My vote would not make any difference anyway' attitude. Those, in all likelihood, were the ones who did the most complaining. For others, votes were cast based not on what was known about the candidate through research, not on personal beliefs or situations, not on what was wanted and expected from their paid officials, but based on the candidate someone else was voting for. We all had our excuses, and how wrong we all were!

Paraphrasing a verse from the Bible, 'Where you lead I will follow' seems to have been the motto of much of the population for what seems like eons. And we have followed like innocent lambs being led to slaughter. Yes, we have followed without question, ever-trusting, and we have been led to slaughter - and to be slaughtered. We have been sacrificed in the name of greed. Our very souls line the pockets of politicians and lobbyists. We've been sacrificed to CEOs who make more money in ten minutes than the average American in one year. CEOs of companies now owned by foreigners, now American in name only; companies whose wealthy CEOs keep their own pockets fat at the expense of American workers whose jobs have been sent to China, and to countries where slave labor rules. Our souls line the pockets of the oil billionaires, and drug companies who gouge the pocketbooks of the poor and not-so-poor. Let them look into the faces of helpless children dieing of cancer, and the faces of the Moms and Dads of those children who are staring at hundreds of thousand of dollars in medical bills, their homes now in foreclosure, and bankruptcy looming. Look into their faces, and tell them you really care. And we have set back and let it happen. We have been, and still are for the most part, viewers.

Our young men and women have fought and died, so many because there seemed to be no other choices in this greedy society we have created. Jobs for the average among us are becoming scarce, and it would be hard-pressed to find even a few that pay more than just above minimum wage. A higher education is out of the question for most, and even now the competition is so great that you'd better have a Masters. The idle promises are there to lure our young men and women to the battlefields: College paid for. Free Health care. The only requirement is they have to survive long enough to collect. Those poor souls who sit in the war zones eating dust for breakfast must now be wondering if the promised perks will ever come, and at what price, for it certainly isn't free. It is paid for with the lives and limbs of their fellow soldiers, if not of themselves.

The very glue that once held our country together has weakened, that glue being the strong belief of our fathers and grand-fathers, and their fathers and fathers before them, in a United States of America that we could trust:Of leaders whose interests were our own, and of their dreams - and ours - for the future. No longer will that glue hold us together, for it has weaken. We once again must bond as a nation with elected officials in whom we can trust. And this, my fellow Americans, is why we must all become doers, giving up the comfort of being only a viewer.

Never in my entire life have I really been interested in politics, but this change has gradually come over me. It started before any presidential candidates were ever announced, quite subtlety. It came to me as I sat at my computer and wrote words of despair and frustration in the form of songs and prose. It came to me as I began for the first time in over fifteen years to watch the national news. It came as I talked with a dear friend of horrendous things happening to our soldiers, and to our elderly, and to the possible demise of our country. It came as whispers in the wind, and I heard those whispers.

I began to pay attention to what was being said...I really listened when my 90 year old mother told me of struggling on her meager Social Security Check. I listened when I heard that babies of illegals in this country are American citizens, that workers with green cards who are not citizens can and will draw Social Security; I listened, unbelieving, as I was told the amount of money we as tax payers pay for medical bills, schooling, etc. for illegals, and for the upkeep of illegals in prisons. Greed now is the motto. I listened as I heard of the increasing deaths of those sent to war to protect us from a phantom enemy. I listened when I heard the fantastic song written and sung by Taylor Pie, "So Little Has Changed", now tagged a modern day protest song by many. I listened. I listened. And I cried. www.taylorpie.com

At age 62 I could let what possible might be my last chance of becoming involved pass me by, or I could become a doer, thus making at least a small difference in the future of my country, helping assure a wonderful, secure country for my great nieces and nephews and their descendants. My steps have been small, beginning with studying the matrix of all the original hopefuls for presidency on the internet, eventually leading to a first in my lifetime:I am actively supporting a presidential campaign! Do you want to know something? It is exciting, it's thrilling to actually be a part of what appears to be taking place in America now, the change that started in me many months ago. Do you want to know something else? YOUR voice can be heard, you can make a difference. It is a conscious decision to become a doer.

My faith has now been renewed by the powerful strength of Senator Obama. My belief is that if anyone can lead us out of the hands of those who no longer have a conscience as Taylor sings, it is Senator Obama, powered by the strength of Americans from the Shores of Maine, and from the streets of Harlem, gaining strength as powerful as the winds of the wide prairies, then blowing across Texas to its borders where the rules aren't clear as to who should be stopped from entering or how. Strength will come from the coal mines, and the ghostly innards of the closed automobile factories, and those of the cotton mills in the South. It will sweep across the homes of presidents and make the hearts of the cowboys swell as it crosses them on its way to reach the smog-filled valleys of California. The peoples of the cities of America, and of the little towns, the farmers of the cornfields, the owners of the few remaining Mom and Pop businesses who struggle daily, the poor Grandad who doesn't know how to read but wants an education for his grandchildren, the 90 year old mother whose heart breaks for her children because there is never enough for them, and what little they have is eaten up by taxes, breaking their spirit...From these there will be a strength, and a hope of renewal for America and her people.

I urge you, be part of this. Become a doer. Don't give up hope, for when all hope is gone so is the United States of America
Posted by Linda at 3:36 PM 0 comments
Labels: America, CEO,faith,politics,president

Must Love Golf!

Must Love Golf!
A tongue-in-cheek look at finding love online - internet dating from a woman's viewpoint

Copyright linhed productions Aug.31st 2008

An ancient ritual of finding a compatible mate has evolved from the archaic Flintstones to that of cyberspace. Visions of the caveman pulling "his woman" into the cave by her hair, club in hand, fill my head. Haven't we all seen those cartoons at some point? Or maybe not. After all, this is the 21st century,and they wouldn't be politically correct, but that's another subject.

Bill Gates and his comrades are geniuses, but who is the genius that came up with the idea of Internet Dating? Who out there one day just had the brilliant idea of a website to match up those looking for a friend, a date, a soul mate, or a Sugar Daddy(or Mama, as the case may be)? Who thought of the concept of internet dating? I must Google that! In any case, it took off like a rocket ship, and more and more I meet people who have met their partner through the wonders of cyberspace.

Now the whys and whereofs of modern age technology totally baffle me. My 91 year old mother seems to understand it much more than I, and has tried to explain it to me, without success I might add! She would do well at this computer stuff, all the while protesting that she is mechanically challenged. So here I sit, along with my fellow sisters and brothers, navigating blindly through the mysterious and unknown, finding myself staring into a small screen filled with pictures of potential partners that seem to appear through mystical means. Sometimes I do think a crystal ball would be just as effective.

The rules of internet dating are certainly nothing like my first go around at dating. Dating in those days was fun-un! But that was eons ago. My friends and I would all crowd around the same mirror at 9:00 at night, laughing like crazy, puttin' on lipstick, the hairspray going in every direction, getting ready to hit the clubs downtown. Here it is, a lifetime later, and now at 9:00 I'm in my pajamas, slathering on the anti-wrinkle cream, gettin' ready to go pick out a date from cyberspace. Peering over pages of possibilities on the internet kinda reminds me of growing up, looking at the Sears and Roebuck catalog with my sister. We would take turns picking out the cute guys,and wish we could order one! Oh Lordy.

Like you, I've finally chosen a suitable "dating" site after scanning through the hundreds offering love for the seniors and the juniors,the sites for all the faiths and ye of little faith, the spiritual, vegetarians, any and all nationalities;the sites for millionaires and billionaires and wantabes, Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mamas. The list goes on...Now I go through the ritual of a hundred questions,ethnicity,eye color, body art, everything about me but but blood type. Isn't it hilarious,the people that have no clue what ethnicity means? Look it up in the dictionary for goodness sake! Who am I looking for? Where should he live? He should live right here with me, but he doesn't so that's why I'm on here. Duh. I'd love to put that as an answer! What color hair,like it matters. I want Mr. Right - hair is optional. When you finally get through all the questions, you then have to come up with something cute and clever to write about yourself. And don't forget, your "user name", for some maybe that ought to be "loser name". But user name is sooo important. It's gotta be something HOT,something catchy, make him want to look at MY profile. No one promised it would be easy. Once you have written and re-written all about yourself, and lost all you've written a dozen times, it's time to post some photos. I wonder, do as many females not put photos on as the males? Why is that,anyway? Are these people on the FBI's most wanted list? And I wonder too, if everyone is so perfect, why are we all divorced and on these sites?

I'm still trying to pick out a cute guy,only now there are a few more wrinkles,and even in this high-tech world most of the pictures posted are horrible. Must be a reason they are blurred and so dark, baseball cap on head. Surely he isn't trying to hide something! We all have gone through hundreds, no, make that thousands of profiles on site after site, viewing those same old ancient pictures that have been on there for years. You see, I'm an expert at this now, and when you're an expert you immediately spot those you've seen on other sites. Not only do they use the same old pictures, the pictures were old when they were posted. Yep,you all have done your share of looking at them, and I'll betcha there are a few of you who have tried that trick: Hmmm, think I'll put up this picture when I was a stud. Yeah,right,'bout forty years ago. That will surely grab her attention. The shocker comes when you view "next photo": A minimum of 100 pounds heavier, making Leroy the Lab beside him look like ChiChi the Chihuahua! Don't you just love the pictures when he was married? You can spot 'em:His arm is draped around somebody, and it sure ain't me. I refuse to even look at the profile.

Here we sit, another four hours of scanning page after page in the hopes of finding Mr.or Ms.Right. The profile is up and approved. Hooray. Now it's log in to see who's viewed me, and hope for an email. Of course we don't do this on the week-ends. Oh no, you DO NOT log on to a dating site on the week-ends! My gosh, they track every move you make on there: When you last logged in, who looked at your profile, whose profile you looked at...You name it, they track it. Now me, if I'm sitting home dateless on a Saturday night I ain't about to log in to Match.com! Do you think I'm nuts? I don't want half the country to know I don't have a date, and the next best thing is to go on line hoping Mr. Right is dateless also - and is going to see ME! The bubbas would have a field day. "Look ut this un,Junior. Here it is Sadurday night and she ain't got no date. Reckin I'll jist send her one uh these here emails". Lord, deliver me from this.

Seriously, the internet dating game works for some, and for some it is nothing more than entertainment. A few years ago I met someone who eventually became a friend, and, for a year, a travel partner. We RVed all over the West, spending several months working at Mount Rainier and in Montana. If you've ever seen the movie with Desi and Lucy, where she is collecting rocks and he is throwing them out of the RV, that was us! I still haven't forgviven him over the rare fossils I threw away - and found out later what they were! Through a site that will remain nameless I met a man who became a very dear friend. He stands by me always, thick and thin, and loves me for the person I am. His greatest wish is that I would find Mr.Right. Maybe I have. Recently I met someone, and yes, it was through a dating site, so all in all this internet dating thing can't be all bad.

PREJUDICE or IGNORANCE:YOUR CHOICE

PREJUDICE AND IGNORANCE REARING UGLY HEADS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Copyright linhed productions
August 2008

Fueled by the totally irresponsible tabloid coverage by the national media, prejudice and ignorance are rearing their ugly heads in the minds of countless millions of voters in this landmark presidential election. The monumental critical issues that face our country seem to be taking a back seat on this ride.

We, the American people, are witnessing history in the making. We have seen two very capable individuals in one of the strongest competitions our nation has ever faced, this in the race for the right to be a participant in an even bigger race, winner takes all, a new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm speaking of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Of course from the get-go most everyone has had an opinion as to who should have the honor of representing the Democratic party. Some are making level headed decisions based on capability, becoming color blind and forgetting gender, 'tho it is quite obvious one is a white woman, the other a black man. There is no way around it. It is what it is. If you had not noticed, the media was sure to let you know! Barnum and Bailey have had some competition of their own, as the national media - competing for ratings - has at times made a tabloid circus, an issue if you will, of the race/gender factors, as opposed to an issue-oriented campaign. The gullible electorate seems to be playing right into their hands.

Not only has there been a media frenzy over race and gender, but also over the religion of one of the candidates, Barack Obama, and over his name as well. Add to that the uproar over the shenanigans of his now-former pastor, and the visiting priest who, in my opinion, thought he was on Saturday Night Live! And the television audience ate it up. Unfortunately, to some that was a negative reflection on Obama, and it should never have been.

You're sure to be asking what does all this have to do with anything? What is the point? The answer is, it has everything to do with what seems to be happening nationwide. I've seen it from day one as surely you have. Maybe you are guilty of this, or you possibly know someone who is. And what is it that you or your spouse or your neighbor or friend might be guilty of? The answer my friend, is that of irresponsibility, irresponsibility in casting your ballot for the possible leader of our country based on prejudice in any form.

Immediately some of you have thought of prejudice as a race issue. Trust me on this, it isn't just a race thing - It is also a name thing, a religion thing, a gender thing, a sexual orientation thing. If you or someone you know is voting for a candidate based on anything other than qualifications it is prejudice - or ignorance. Your choice.

As a white female and registered Independent who votes the issues, I'm disappointed in my fellow Americans when I hear someone say they won't vote for a black candidate, or for a woman. When John Kennedy began his campaign for the White House I was fifteen years old,and I remember vividly derogatory comments about his being Catholic. I didn't yet understand. It horrifies me even now, the mind-set of those who think a candidate's religion hinders his or her ability to lead without bias. It boggles my mind to think that citizens of this great nation are willing to switch their party of choice because their party's nominee is black - or the black candidate (Obama) did not choose the white female (Hillary) for his running mate. Being female, I'm appalled at the women (some of whom I know) who would vote for a (female) candidate only because she is female. I read a post on the web from a female who was so strongly for Hillary that she took Obama's decision for a man as his running mate as a slap in the face. I, on the other hand, take it as an insult that she or any other female who feels the same would see that as a slap in the face! Are women of America so insecure that this has become an issue in itself?

According to national poles, millions of people seem to be voting their emotions, arising out of prejudice, anger, or a combination of both. Every potential voter should study the issues, and make their decision based on those issues. As we go to the polls, all of us - male or female, black or white, Muslim, Catholic, Atheist or otherwise, gay or straight - each of us should ask in our own mind: Am I voting with my emotions, am I casting my ballot based on prejudice? Have I studied all the issues, and am I voting based on those issues? If we are true to our country there will no prejudice at the voting booth.